Wells are generally drilled into the ground or seabed to recover natural deposits of oil and gas, as well as other natural resources trapped in geological formations in the Earth's crust. Such wells are drilled using a drill bit attached to a lower end of a drill string or other drill piping. Drilling fluid (“mud”) is pumped from the wellsite surface down through the drill piping to the drill bit. The drilling fluid lubricates and cools the bit, and may additionally carry drill cuttings from the wellbore back to the surface from which the wellbore extends.
The drilling fluid may be pumped through the drill piping by one or more high-pressure pumps. However, the drilling fluid may be a corrosive, abrasive, and/or solids-laden fluid, which can reduce functional life and increase maintenance of the high-pressure pumps.